The long-term goal of our research effort is to elucidate the mechanisms of lipid metabolism in helminths with particular emphasis on identifying metabolic differences between parasitic helminths and their hosts. Immediate experimental goals are: (1) to characterize the enzymes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis in nematodes; (2) to determine the nature of the regulatory control mechanisms of fatty acid biosynthesis operating in nematodes; (3) to characterize the properties and functions of acyl-CoA carboxylase found in a parasitic flatworm; and (4) to determine the presence, origin, and function of dolichol in parasitic flatworms and nematodes.